Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU Student Athletes Complete 1300 Hours in Community Service
June 21, 1999 | General
June 22, 1999
As time consuming as being a student athlete can be, OSU student athletes somehow found time to volunteer over 1300 hours of their time to the community and state during the 98-99 academic year.
A student athlete's whole day is usually dedicated to school and their respective sport.
"During the year I usually get up around 7am and go workout. After that I eat breakfast and am usually in class from 9:30 to 12:30. Then I eat lunch and go to meetings from about 2-3:00. After these meetings I have a three hour football practice, then I eat dinner, study and go to bed," said football kicker Russ Schwettman.
Schwettman said that his spring schedule is usually a little lighter. He works out in the mornings and usually has a few free hours in the afternoon; it is then that he usually does most of his volunteering.
These volunteer hours range from speaking at FCA meetings, to reading to elementary school students, and to taking part in two new programs, "Campus Pals" and "Adopt-A-Player."
"Adopt-A-Player" is a new program that was started at OSU this past academic year. The program was developed by the Oklahoma State University Athletic Department in conjunction with Stillwater Schools.
"We went out and solicited a handful of teachers in the Stillwater area to take on a student athlete as a classroom opportunity," said Athletic Department representative Kerry O'Keefe.
After a classroom had been matched with a student athlete, the teacher used information about that athlete as an educational tool. The athlete's statistics were used to teach math skills, and the geography and history of the athlete's hometown, were used to teach both history and geography.
"I spent time with the class I was assigned to and taught them a lesson each week. One of the lessons they learned involved my dog. At the beginning of the year he was a puppy, and through out the year the children measured the dog each week to see how fast it grew. Through this they were exposed to math and different measurements. I really got a lot out of this program and hope to continue it next year," said OSU Basketball player Doug Gottlieb.
"Campus Pals" is another new program that was implemented this year. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America teamed up to begin this mentoring program.
"The program was a wonderful success as far as we are concerned," said Chairwoman Dr. Andrea Maril. "The athletes that participated really set a standard for other Big Brothers and Big Sisters, they served as true mentors to the children that participated."
The program matches teams of two student athletes (Bigs) with a Little Brother or Little Sister (Littles). An emphasis is placed on creating collegiate bigs as positive role models, associated with mental and physical fitness, sports skills, sportsmanship and higher education.
"The program was beneficial to both me and my little. I have a major in education, so this program taught me about kids from different backgrounds and the attention that they need. At the same time it also helped my little because it gave her someone to reach out to when and if she had a problem or needed someone to talk to," said OSU Soccer player Mercy Morrical.
The Oklahoma State University Spirit group also took part in volunteering this past year at the WB34 Kids Expo in Oklahoma City this past fall.
"The Spirit Squad is always very eager to help out in any aspect that we need them to," said Hillari Grimes a WB34 representative. The Spirit Squad spent the day at the Expo giving a free clinic; they also had a booth where they painted faces.
"Everyone on the squad volunteers to do community service through out the year," said Spirit Squad member Amber Adams. "The WB34 Kids Expo was really neat. They had a lot of different activities for the kids to do. We (the Spirit Squad) put on a clinic, handed out football schedules and painted faces. I had a lot of fun," she added.
OSU Football Quarterback Tony Lindsay also got into the volunteering act. Lindsay served as the honorary chairperson for the March of Dimes WalkAmerica in December.
"We were very impressed with all that Tony Lindsay did for WalkAmerica. After classes ended in May and Tony had gone home to Denver, he drove back to Stillwater a week later with his mother to actually participate in the walk. He was very positive and went above and beyond our expectations of him," said Cristy Morrison, who served as chairperson of WalkAmerica.
